


My Heart's at the Wheel Now

by aintweproudriff



Series: Dear Baby [1]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Adoption, Anxiety, Demiboy Crutchie, F/F, Im so excited oh my gosh this is so sweet, Kath and Sarah are the best aunts ever, M/M, Multi, Nonverbal Communication, Panic Attacks, Sign Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-06 18:04:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12823092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aintweproudriff/pseuds/aintweproudriff
Summary: Jack, Davey, and Crutchie adopt a baby(and all the beautiful craziness of being a parent)





	1. A Dream is a Soft Place to Land

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheVioletSunflower](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheVioletSunflower/gifts).



> Oh my god I love this fic so much!! The conversation I had a while back that inspired this fic meant so much to me, and I had to write it. Thanks to @TheVioletSunflower for the idea!  
> Every chapter will be titled with a line from waitress, because I love waitress so so much.  
> Thanks to @heck_the_peck for the baby name!  
> (also theres been a ton of fics with kids but eh Im jumping on this cute bandwagon)

“So we’re thinking that they’ll call us DD,” David grinned, “to stand for ‘Dad David.’ And then DJ, to stand for ‘Dad Jack,’ and then Ren or Renny, which is short for parent, for Crutchie. Thoughts?”

David looked nervously at the faces of his sister and her wife. 

“That is the cutest fuc- freaking thing I’ve ever heard,” Sarah’s face split into a grin. 

Katherine and Sarah were, up to this point, the only people the three of them had told about the adoption. Not even Davey’s parents knew, and Davey was notorious for telling them everything. The agency had advised Jack, Davey, and Crutchie to not tell many people; in the case that the adoption didn’t go through, they didn’t really want a bunch of friends and family all feeling sorry for them. Or worse, asking to meet their new kid only to be let down. They couldn’t keep this a secret from Aunt Kat and Aunt Saz anymore, though. They were the first ones to encourage the three of them to adopt a child in the first place. Not to mention that they had been on their backs about ‘whatever it was that the three of them were hiding’.

“So, do you know how long it’s going to take? Do you know anything about what the baby will be like?” Katherine shrugged her shoulders in excitement, clasping her hands. 

“We don’t have any idea, really,” Crutchie sighed. “But we’ve been on the waitlist for a little over a month. And we’ve said we’ll adopt any baby whose mother is okay with the baby having queer polyamorous parents. So,” they shrugged and rolled their eyes, “it could be very soon, or it could be months. We just don’t know.”

“But, all that thinking about names has led to some other discussions. We’ve got names picked out, and a nursery set up, and, oh! Sarah, do you remember all the sign language Mom and Dad taught Les when he was a baby?” David asked, rubbing his thumb against his palm nervously.

“I don’t remember the signs for anything, but I remember them doing it.”

“We’re definitely going to try to do that,” Davey smiled. “I did some research on it, and apparently it can help the baby learn about communication really early. And remember how much it helped Les, even when he got a little older? He could do the sign for toilet, which helped with diapers and-”

“Davey’ll be in charge of that, I think,” Jack slung his arm affectionately around his husband. “Since neither of us know any of that stuff. Besides, he’s gonna-”

Whatever Jack was about to say was cut off by the sound of a ringing phone. He shut his mouth as his hand went to his back pocket like it was magnetically attracted. 

“Everyone, shut up, shut up!” he whispered.

They did as they were told instantly, waiting expectantly to hear what had Jack so excited. 

“Hello?” he answered. “Yes, this is Jack Jacobs-Kelly, who is this?” His hand flew out in front of him, and then pointed enthusiastically to the phone. “Oh, yes, hi!”

Davey looked to Crutchie, whose mouth was agape. He smiled at his spouse, but Crutchie didn’t seem to notice; they were staring at Jack. 

“Oh my god, are you serious?” Jack laughed and covered his mouth as he sat down. “No, of course you’re serious. Why wouldn’t you be serious? I’m just- that’s so overwhelming oh my god,” he paused for a second, apparently to let the person on the other line speak. “Uh, hold on, okay? I’m just, well, uh, a little in shock. Can I pass you off to my husband? He’ll know how to, like, actually process this information, and understand the next steps, because I’m not going to be able to right now. Yeah, thank you, hold on a second.”

Jack put the phone screen to his hip, hiding the caller ID against his clothes. “We’re gonna have a baby!” he whispered loudly, his face a smiling mess, and folded himself into Crutchie, who laughed in disbelief and covered their face with their hands. 

Davey received the phone from Jack, and tried desperately to steady his breathing and think only about next steps, and not about the baby who, in a short while, would be living with them. He turned his back on his shocked spouses and his sister, and spoke into the phone. 

“Hi, this is David Jacobs-Kelly,” Davey took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’d love to know more about the child! Hold on one second, please? Sorry, there’s a, uh, small celebration going on here,” he laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, thank you.”

Davey turned back around. 

“Will you please shut up?” he grinned at his company. “I can’t even hear her.”

The five other people in the room stopped moving completely. 

“Sarah, can you take some notes on what I say? Great, thanks.”

Davey turned back around and put the phone to his ear. “Okay, thank you for waiting. Yeah, yeah, you can continue now.”

The lady on the other end laughed at him. “Okay, so she’s a baby girl, the mother just went into labor about an hour ago.”

“A baby girl,” Davey mouthed to Sarah.

“The mother knows about your relationship status, and she is perfectly comfortable with it. The baby is of African American descent, and will likely be born within the next ten hours.”

Davey tried to silently relay this to Sarah, but quickly decided against doing all that work and snatched the notepad and pen from her hands, scribbling furiously what the lady had just said. 

“After the baby is born, she’ll be in the hospital for a minimum of twenty-four hours, and a maximum of three days. We’ll give you a call when you can pick her up, and then the three of you will sign the paperwork, including the birth certificate.”

“And we’ll be able to choose her name, right?”

“That’s correct. That’s also the information I can give you right now, Mr. Jacobs-Kelly. We’ll give you a call when it’s time for you to meet her and pick her up, okay?”

“Yes, alright, well. Thank you very much,” Davey breathed slowly. “Goodbye.”

He turned around, trying to be calm. But he lost his self control when he remembered what had happened. 

“We’re going to have a baby!” he nearly shouted, flapping his arms in front of him. The others all jumped with him, and Crutchie took a moment to wipe a tear from Jack’s face. 

“Shit,” Crutchie stopped suddenly. “We have to get this place cleaned up for her. I mean, we’re almost ready, but-”

“-And we have to call everyone, oh my god,” Davey finished. 

Sarah hugged David tightly. “Well get going! Oh my god, I’m going to be an aunt!”


	2. We Were Both Born Today

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm blowing through this fic! I can't help it, it's so great.

Crutchie had been on the phone for hours now, calling everyone they could think of and telling them the good news: Spot, Race, Albert and Elmer, Les, Specs and Romeo, Blink and Mush, Henry, Jojo and Buttons, and of course Medda and Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs. By the end of it, they were completely exhausted, and collapsed on the couch. 

Meanwhile, David had busied himself with cleaning and re-cleaning the nursery. Jack had painted it pastel yellow weeks ago, and the three of them had labored to get it just right, but David insisted on agonizing over every detail. He inspected the crib, and the blankets, and each and every toy, “just to make sure it wasn’t broken or would be something she could choke on.”  
In the end, Davey found himself on the ground, stroking a soft gray pillow in his lap. He looked around at the room, his eyes glancing at the two big gray chairs in the corner, the yellow crib with gray blankets, the tiny dresser that held enough gender-neutral baby outfits for two or three weeks, the changing table, the big blue plush rug in the middle of it all.   
His eyes finally fixated on Jack’s finishing touch. Just above the crib, in big black letters, Jack had painted the words “Always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” Davey couldn’t help himself, he laughed gratefully through the tears that had fallen. He had a feeling that although it had been painted for their child, that quote might inspire him and his spouses in the coming years more than it would inspire their daughter. 

Jack rolled his eyes at his husband, but he was just as bad. Jack took his time to walk through their home, assessing each inch. Everything had to be baby-proofed.   
“Crutchie?” he asked, and Crutchie put their hand over the phone speaker. “Do we need to put corner guards on the kitchen table?”  
Crutchie nodded, and Jack stuck the guards on. “What about locks on the cabinets under the sink?” Crutchie nodded again, and Jack sighed.   
When he had finished baby-proofing (even though he wasn’t quite sure he’d done it right), he checked the cupboards to ensure they had enough formula for at least a week. 

-

Jack’s inspections and reinspections, Crutchie’s catnap, and Davey’s somewhat anxious contemplation were all interrupted by Jack’s phone, for the second time in forty-eight hours. 

“Hello?” Jack lunged for it. “Yes, hi again! Really? Already? Okay, awesome, thank you so much! Yeah, we’ll be there in, oh, a little under an hour. Alright, thanks again. Bye.”

Crutchie and Davey raised their eyebrows. 

“She’s ready to be picked up now,” Jack grinned, his voice shaky. 

“Should we get going, then?” Crutchie stood up, leaning themself casually against the couch. “I’ll grab the car seat, I guess, and, uh, Jack?”

Jack was on the couch. He sat down and shook his head, tapping his fingers against his thigh. “I, I can’t believe this is happening. I feel like I’m not ready, I thought we were gonna have more time to get ready, and I thought I was gonna be able to finish that parenting book, and I thought-”

“Jack?” Davey knelt down. “Are you nervous?”

“Obviously,” Jack bit his lip. 

“Remember before we got married? You were nervous, yeah?” Davey smiled and took Jack’s hand.

“Yeah.”

“And how did the wedding go?”

“I forgot all of what I was supposed to say,” Jack grinned, remembering. “But it was the best day of my life,” he pushed his hand into the couch, forcing himself to stop shaking. 

“This is going to be bigger than that,” Davey smiled. “Which means it’s going to be better than getting married,” he paused and rubbed his thumb over Jack’s hand. “We’re gonna be alright, okay? But we need to go.”

Jack nodded. “I love you guys,” he whispered. 

Davey let go of Jack’s hand and smiled, blushing. Crutchie followed Davey out the door, and Jack locked the door behind them. 

-

Bright lights of the hospital irritated Davey’s eyes, but he didn’t say anything about it. He was too excited to complain about anything in that moment. Crutchie reached for his hand, but he pulled it back with an apologetic smile. They nodded and smiled back at him, understanding. 

A cry sounded from down the hallway that was in front of them. A door flew open, and a nurse looked around the room. In her arms was a bundle of pink blanket that she rocked back and forth. 

“The Jacobs-Kelly family?” she asked, smiling at Jack and Crutchie. 

“Yeah, that’s us,” Crutchie gestured to their husbands. 

“This is your daughter, then,” the nurse gushed happily. “Would you, uh, like to hold her?”

Jack held out his arms, and the nurse passed the baby to him. He cradled her closely, pulling her against his chest. She made a small noise, one that sounded like she was going to cry, but she just let out a breath and closed her eyes. Jack visibly melted a little, his face and eyes turning soft. 

“And then if I could just get the three of you to follow me, and you’ll sign the adoption papers and get the birth certificate and everything, and then you can meet the mother if you’d like, but she’s requested not to have a lot of contact with you or with her daughter from here on out, so I don’t know if that will be a great idea.”

“Alright, that’s good,” Crutchie smiled at her, and she led them down a hallway. 

-

Jack passed their daughter off to Crutchie as he signed the first set of papers, and then Crutchie passed her to David, and David passed her back to Jack once each of them had signed. 

“So, um, what is the name we’re putting on the birth certificate?” a woman asked Jack. 

He looked up at her and smiled. “Ivy Jacobs-Kelly.”

-

Within moments, David held his daughter in his arms again, as Jack talked to the nurses. 

“Alright,” one of the ladies said, “I think you are all good to leave. Here’s your copy of the certificate-” she handed Crutchie a paper, “as well as all of the paperwork you’ll need to keep as proof of adoption.”

“Thank you so much,” Crutchie shook her hand genuinely. 

“Of course,” she grinned, “have a good day.”

As Jack picked up everything they needed to take home, Davey looked down at her sleeping face. “Hi, Ivy,” he whispered. “It’s nice to meet you. Are you ready to go?”

She made a face in her sleep and moved one of her arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be opening prompts soon on tumblr @javidblue, so if you have ideas, come let me know!


	3. I Love You Like a Table

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have i mentioned yet in the notes that Crutchie is nb? I love them.

When Les was born, Davey had been seven, and Sarah had been eight. The two of them had taken care of their little brother a lot, and Davey had figured that that might transfer over into taking care of Ivy.   
He had never been quite so wrong. 

Well, at least the basics were the same. He vaguely recalled how to change a diaper, and how to carry a baby so that you support the head, and how to rock her so that she falls asleep. Beyond that, Davey was a little helpless. He felt like his spouses just knew so much more than he did on the topic; Jack was so good at playing with her and singing to her, Crutchie had a certain talent for calming and feeding her. 

-

Davey watched one day, almost two weeks after she had come home, as Jack rocked her. He had taken to singing softly to her as he did this, humming through tired smiles at the way she rested her head on his chest. He sang little songs that he said he’d written a long time ago. Davey kept hearing some little ditty about Santa Fe that made him smile every time he heard it. Crutchie was cleaning in the kitchen, their voice humming along to Jack’s song. And Davey had been throwing himself into parenting books, desperately trying to learn how he could connect with her, and what it would be like as she began to grow. She had already developed a pretty good head of hair, and her face was rounder, and she’d put on a pound or two. She cooed in Jack’s ear, and Jack smiled and swayed back and forth.   
He hadn’t even realized he’d done it. But when Crutchie came and sat on the couch next to him, they moved their fingers gently over the hand shape that Davey had made. 

“Is this a sign you’re gonna teach her?” they asked, leaning their head on his shoulder. “I still don’t know many of those.”

Davey looked down at his hand, moving it to his lap. Involuntarily, he had moved his middle and ring finger to the palm of his hand, letting his other fingers stick out. Three letters, combined as one: an “i,” made with his pinky finger, an “l,” made with his forefinger and thumb, and a “y,” made with his thumb and pinky finger. The sign for “I love you.”

“Oh,” he stuttered, making his palm flat and intertwining his fingers with Crutchie’s. “I didn’t even, I didn’t mean to do that,” David chuckled awkwardly, drawing Jack’s attention.

“Well, what’s it mean?” Jack whispered, so that he wouldn’t wake up Ivy, who had finally fallen asleep. “Or is it, like, a cuss?” He laughed, remembering that only a few weeks ago, the three of them never would have cared about a stray swear word. 

“No, no, it’s nothing bad. And, uh, I’ll probably teach her it eventually,” David smiled. He had started using more and more sign language around the house, so that she’d start to get used to it, but it was unlikely she’d be able to sign for quite some time. Still, the idea of it made him happy. 

“So what does it mean?” Crutchie raised their eyebrows, obviously not in the mood for games. 

Davey coughed slightly. “It means,” he took a breath. “ItmeansIloveyou.”

Crutchie smiled, and rubbed their hand up and down Davey’s arm gently. They had heard him. 

Jack, evidently, had not. “It means what?”

“I love you, Jack,” Crutchie pointedly whispered. 

“I love you too, what does it me- oh. It means I love you. I’m not that smart.”

Davey grinned, blushing. “You’re plenty smart,” he nodded as Jack left the room to put Ivy to bed. He made his voice low and soft. “It makes sense that he wouldn’t think I was saying I love you,” he muttered. 

“Why would you say that, Davey?” they asked softly. Davey could hear Crutchie’s heartbeat. 

“Because I never say it. You both say it all the time. Like, every day at dinner and breakfast and before we go to bed. And I never say it back. I think that the last time I said it out loud, I was… oh my god. I think we were actually at the wedding. It’s been over a year since then. I never say it to you guys, and you probably are sick of my not saying it but I just don’t like to, but then I feel so bad-”

“Hey. The last time you said it wasn’t at our wedding. It was in January, when you got real sick that one time,” Crutchie smiled at the memory. “You had been in bed for like, two days. And Jack and I had both been working a ton, but we finally both got home with soup and lots of water, that you scarfed down. And the three of us like, laid in bed for hours and hours,” Crutchie buried their face in David’s neck and rubbed his hand gently. “We watched a movie, I can’t remember what, and then we fell asleep. You said ‘I love you’ right before we fell asleep. Or, at least, right before you fell asleep. Jack and I looked at each other like, ‘did you hear that too?’ We were so excited that you’d said it, because it had been since the wedding that you said it.”

Davey closed his eyes. “How is it that I remember none of that?”

“You were pretty delirious,” Jack stepped out of the hallway, where he had evidently been eavesdropping. “But it was sweet.”

“You guys, I’m sorry. I hope you know that I do, even though I never say it,” Davey breathed. 

Crutchie giggled. “Of course we know, silly. You do sweet things for us, and you make time to hang out with us, even when you’re really busy with work. That’s how we know you love us, it has nothing to do with how much you say it.”

“Well, it has something to do with how much you say it,” Jack sat down. “It’s nice to hear it sometimes.” 

Crutchie shot their husband a glare. “But,” their eyes lit up, “you just said it again! You signed it!”

“It’s not the same-” Davey tried to reason. 

Jack grabbed Davey’s hand. “Of course it’s the same thing!” he smiled widely. “If I said ‘te amo,’ that means the same thing, right? It’s still I love you?”

David choked on his spit. “Well, I mean, yeah, it’s just in a different language, so I guess it’s the same thing.”

Crutchie bounced on the couch. “Exactly! It’s the same exact words, just translated. Same meaning, same sentiment,” the paused for a second. “Would you be more comfortable if you were able to sign it instead of saying it?”

Davey shrugged, then nodded, and watched their faces break into smiles. 

“Alright, so how do you do that sign?” Jack asked. 

Davey made the shape with his hand, and his spouses copied his movements.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could technically end the story here, but I'm not sure I want to. I'm not quite sure where to go from here, but that's half the fun, right?


	4. You Matter to Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the end! if you want more of this, request something specific and I might made this a series

“So you’ve got our phone numbers, obviously,” Jack touched Katherine on the shoulder, and she bounced Ivy up and down gently in her arms, “and you know what to do in an emergency. No allergies, she’s got plenty of formula, diapers and all that are in her room, she’ll probably fall asleep about six or seven o’clock, what am I missing, Davey?”

“Nothing,” Sarah answered for her brother. “You’ve got it all.”

“I think we’re alright, Jack,” Crutchie set their arm gently on Jack’s hand. “Let’s get going, okay? We have reservations.”

“Okay, okay, I just wanted to be sure-”

Katherine smiled maternally. “I know, I get it. But you’re leaving her with the best aunts ever, okay? She’ll be alright.” She looked at Ivy’s face. “Won’t we, Ivy?”

Ivy cooed, babbling a little bit. 

It had been a month since she was born, and Katherine and Sarah had been asking her parents if they could see her just about every day since. They’d come over a couple times, usually bringing clothes for Ivy or food for Jack, Davey, and Crutchie. But this was the first time they’d actually be watching her while the three of them went out.   
It was probably for the best that they went out, although they didn’t have to like it. Davey had barely left their home at all, choosing instead to let Crutchie or Jack be in charge of getting groceries. He’d only gone outside to get the mail, and he wouldn’t admit it, but it was driving him a little crazy. 

“Yeah, alright,” Davey grabbed his coat from off the rack. “Let’s head out. We’ll be home in a few hours, alright girls?” As he said it, he made sure to turn his head from Sarah, to Katherine, to Ivy, who kicked her leg at him. He grinned widely, throwing his coat over his shoulders. 

“See you later, Davey!” Sarah called, waving her hand before reaching to take Ivy from Katherine. Davey made the sign for ‘I love you’ behind him as he stepped out of the room. 

Jack pulled the door closed behind him and his spouses. “Okay,” he smiled. “A night out, finally. It’s gonna be stress-free, it’s gonna be fun. And it’s just dinner! We can handle that, right?”

“For sure,” Crutchie nodded. “We’ve got this. We deserve a few hours out.”

Davey let his shoulders rise and fall with determination. Yeah, he could do this. He took Jack’s hand, and the three of them made their way to the garage.   
Once they were there, Davey hopped in the front of the car. It was the first time he’d driven this thing since Ivy was born, but every motion he made in it felt mechanical, like he had been born to do it. And, honestly, he was so used to it. In high school, some of his friends had laughed at him for having a ‘soccer mom car’. Well, maybe now it was possible that he would end up as a soccer mom of sorts. Or a stage mom, or an academic decathalon mom. There were so many things that Ivy might do, and he’d be in the front seat of the car for all of it. They pulled out of the garage, Davey having to look around their new, bright yellow ‘baby on board’ sticker as he backed up. 

-

The restaurant was crowded, strange for 5:00 on a Thursday night. 

“Hi!” the waitress greeted cheerily, “reservation?”

“Jacobs-Kelly,” Jack smiled smoothly at her. 

“Party of three?” she asked, and, seeing how they all nodded, she grabbed some menus. “Follow me.”

They took their seats at a table that was set for two, and she pulled over another chair, which Davey sat down in. “Sorry,” she apologized, “we’ve been so much busier than we expected to be today that we didn’t get a chance to set up this table. We’ll get another plate and silverware out in just a second, alright?” She patted Davey on the back gently, and he flinched. 

As she left, Jack leaned his head back calmly, as if the noise of the bustling restaurant was only a white noise machine. “It is good to get out, talk about something other than who’s going to change the next diaper.”

Crutchie laughed and dove into some story about their first day back at their job after Ivy came. Davey hadn’t gone back to work yet, but Jack had been working on starting his online business and Crutchie had been at work for a week. 

“It was hilarious,” they rested their head in their hand, “because no one knew I was expecting a baby! So they were all expecting some dramatic story on why I was gone, but i just brought in one of the pictures we’d taken of Ivy, set it on my desk, and kept working like I had never left. They were so confused!” 

They’d told the story before. Davey remembered it clearly, and how much they had laughed when they’d first come home from work that day. Jack still thought it was hilarious though, of course, and threw his head back laughing. Davey continued reading his menu, trying to decide on what to eat. 

-

Eventually the food came, plates clinking on the hard, cold wood of the table, and Jack and Crutchie began to dig in. Davey tried to pick up his fork, only realizing how shaky his hands were when he tried to cut into the chicken he’d ordered. 

“Dave, love,” Crutchie reached over and put their hand next to David’s. “Are you alright? You’re pretty quiet.”

He coughed uncomfortably. “Yeah,” he choked out, “yeah, I’m alright. Just, uh, it’s really loud in here.”

Jack furrowed his brows. “Okay, well, if you feel like you need something, don’t be afraid to speak up, alright?”

Davey nodded, taking a deep breath and returning to his food. 

-

He had only just finished when he heard a crash from behind him. Davey turned around, his shoulders rising up instinctively towards his cheekbones. A waitress, not the same one who had been serving them, but someone else, had tripped and fallen. He saw shards of broken glass on the floor, with forks and butter knives scattered around with them. A waiter came running out from the kitchen area with a broom, ready to clean up the mess. He helped her to her feet and looked around at all the customers watching them, giving an awkward wave to everyone. 

Davey turned back around quickly. Crutchie reached for his hand, but David jerked it backwards. 

“Davey?” Jack nearly whispered. “Are you feeling okay?”

He opened his mouth to reassure them, but shut it again in half a second. His breathing felt labored, like he had a weight on his chest, and like everything was focused on him. The sound of the crash rang in his ears, like a bell that woke him up on a day he was sick. 

“Hey,” Crutchie murmured, putting their hands back in their lap. “What’s wrong, Davey?”

His hands moved of their own accord, his right hand flying towards his chest, his left hand towards his stomach. He made sideways fives on top of his body, over and over again like broken fireworks. 

“I don’t, I don’t know what that means, Davey,” Crutchie said softly, like they were talking to a baby. “You have to help me, love.”

He tapped his fingers on the table.

Jack sighed. “David, do you feel okay?”

Two fingers. Pinch to the thumb. No. 

“Okay,” Jack finally set his fork down. “Do you need to leave?”

A fist. Thumb in front of all the fingers. Shake up and down like a nod. Yes. 

“Alright then,” Jack stood up suddenly, and the chair scratched on the floor. “Crutchie, can you go on outside with him? I’ll get the check, alright?”

Crutchie helped Davey out of his chair, and Davey blindly followed his spouse of of the restaurant. He might have seen them shoot the hostess an appreciative smile, but he kept his face to the ground until they were outside. 

“Don’t feel pressured to talk,” Crutchie said as the two of them sat down on a bench. “But when you’re ready, you should make sure you let us know what happened. It’ll help us for if it happens again.”

Davey nodded, brushing a piece of hair back from his face. 

-

Their house was still in perfect shape when they returned, and Katherine and Sarah were sat on the couch drinking glasses of apple juice. 

“Hi,” Jack whispered as they stepped through the door. 

Katherine stood up, leaving Sarah without somewhere to rest her head. “You’re home early,” she said softly. 

“Yeah, we are,” Crutchie shrugged, making it fairly obvious that they didn’t want to talk about it. 

“Okay then. Ivy’s asleep, and she is just the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” Sarah stood up as well, putting her arm around Katherine. “So I think you three should be good to get some rest or do whatever you need to do while she’s sleeping. And we,” she drummed her fingers on her wife’s shoulder, “will get out of your hair.”

“Thanks, guys, you’re the best,” Jack hugged them each. “How much do we owe you?”

Sarah shook her head violently. “Nothing at all,” she wrapped her coat around her. “It was great to finally be able to spend time with-” she giggled, squeaking a little bit “-my niece.”

“Thank you, Sarah,” Davey hugged her goodbye; the first thing he’d said since the restaurant. He made the sign for ‘I love you’ again, and she did it back to him. 

-

When the two girls had left, Crutchie crashed on the couch. 

“I can’t move,” they whined dramatically, rolling their eyes back and putting the back of their hand to their forehead. “I’m too tired.”

“Shut up,” Jack scoffed, taking his jacket off and loosening his tie. “Let’s go to bed, okay? Finally get a little sleep.”

Crutchie rolled off of the couch reluctantly, eventually pulling themself up and moving to follow Jack. 

“Davey?” they looked behind them. “Coming to bed?”

Davey shook his head. “Not right now,” he forced a smile. “I’ll come in a few minutes.”

“Alright,” they nodded. With a little bit of difficulty, Crutchie put their ring finger and middle finger to the palm of their hand and held it up. Davey signed it back with a smile.

Davey ambled around the living room for a moment, trying to get the nerve to move somewhere, anywhere. And without warning, his feet had moved him to the door of the nursery.   
He creaked open the door, not letting it make any noise, and stepped inside. The stuffy room felt homey, lived in. And he supposed it was. He’d been spending the majority of his time in this room after all. Davey’s eyes traced across the room, landing finally on Ivy, whose dreams he hoped were sweet. Her stomach rose and fell in rhythmic patterns, and David smiled at her. A deep breath, and some sleep, and a reminder that he was “braver than he believed, and stronger than he seemed, and smarter than he thought.”

-

He was in bed with his spouses only minutes after that, pressed up between them, warm and much quieter and happier than anything had been so far that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading. I love newsies, and I love sign language, and I love kids, so this is the best fic ever.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment and/or kudo if you did!


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